In 1983, when the President of Kenya placed a ban on this practice, the elders of some of
the districts, in obvious defiance, issued a statement that female circumcision is a
cultural prerogative of the tribe, and central Government had no business telling them to
stop it. Indeed, when the head of state visited the district soon after, he did not bring
up the issue.

A motion seeking to ban female circumcision was defeated in the
Kenyan parliament on November 13, 1996

The reality is that fifty per cent of Kenyan women have undergone
circumcision. In some areas this percentage is as high as 95 per cent and, as much as 50%
of the women were operated on when they were aged between 10 and 15 years old.

Female circumcision is today discussed at international and national
forums as a violation of human rights and as inimical to female reproductive health. Yet,
to a considerable number of people in countries where FGM is practiced, the argument for
its continuation is that the practice is a traditional cultural rite of passage.
Precisely, it is by virtue of it being a rite of passage that circumcision results in most
harm. It passes off young girls into adulthood and others into marriage when they are
psychologically and physically not ready for it.

Circumcision of girls makes them feel grown up, and they have no
qualms having sexual relations with adult men, and grown men also view them as mature
women, ready for sexual relationships. In areas where girls are circumcised there are
higher rates of teenage pregnancy and school drop outs. Teachers report that there is a
noticeable drop in school performance soon after circumcision (Family Planning Association
of Kenya).

A majority of Kenyans will agree that female circumcision is no longer
a necessity, that it greatly affects the status and development of girls and women, and
that it is a reproductive and human rights issue. But, it is still a cultural practice and
some communities are not ready to abandon it yet.

It is with this understanding of this sensitive nature of the topic
that Family Planning Association of Kenya (FPAK), Programme for Appropriate Technology in
Health (PATH) and Maendeleo,undertook a study to establish reasons for its
persistence and to identify families who no longer practice circumcision in order to learn
from them.

Research findings by FPAK PATH and MaendeleoThe term female circumcision was consciously chosen instead of female
genital mutilation (FGM) because this term connotes malice. But when you talk to even
those families who still practice female circumcision, no one intentionally wants to harm
their daughters. "We use the words female circumcision to avoid antagonising people and
because it is the term most people understand anyway,"
Joyce Ikiara, Assistant
Programme Officer at Maendeleo.

An uncircumcised girl fetches a lower bride price. In all the
communities where the practice persists, bride price, is deeply entrenched and a girl who
refuses to be circumcised is a threat to the would-be wealth her father expects on her
marriage. We know of cases where girls have been ostracised by their parents for refusing
to be circumcised.

"Only 62% of girls with secondary education were circumcised,
compared
to 96% of those with no education."

FPAK feels that girls should be targeted with information about the
practice, and given the confidence to say "no". An uncircumcised girl is likely
to be taunted by her family, friends, school mates and young boys. But when armed with
information and some formal education she can withstand the pressure as statistics show.

"Female circumcision prepares girls for responsible married
life", is one of the arguments for the practice of female circumcision. Girls who
are not circumcised, it is argued, are immoral, make rude wives and daughters-in-law. In
some communities it is drummed into the girls' head right from a tender age that no man
will marry an uncircumcised girl.

The need for sustained community-based education to eradicate female
circumcision. While doing their research these organisations undertook community
education and information to ensure that individuals at community level appreciate why
circumcision must be discarded. Starting with opinion leaders, health workers, teachers,
men women and children all are given information during seminars, public meetings, and
through specially selected and trained village level 'gender educators'.

An alternative to circumcision: tradition, and the way forwardAfter giving people information PATH members discussed at length with
the community what they felt would be a suitable alternative, especially in those
communities where the practice did not necessarily lead to marriage. When girls are
circumcised, they go into seclusion. Each girl has the equivalent of a godmother, who
holds her during the operation, takes care of her to make sure she heals properly. It is
these 'godmothers' who teach the girls what it means to be an adult, especially in
marriage. At the end of the seclusion period which could be seven days for school going
girls or two months for those who are to be married off soon after, there is a colourful
community celebration, with a lot of feasting and dancing, and the girls are showered with
gifts by their parents and relatives.

This alternative ceremony has been promoted to allow the community and
the girls to go through all the steps except the actual operation. In addition some
education skills have been imparted to the 'godmothers' so that, during the seclusion
period, the girls receive information about how to face the challenge of adolescence. They
are taught how their bodies work, and about relationships, responsible sexual behaviour,
and conception .

Is the battle against female circumcision being won?Although not all areas have accepted this alternative ceremony, the
changes are significant and encouraging:

female
circumcision was not a subject people talked about, but villagers who have undergone the
educational program discuss openly the merits and demerits of the practice, the issue has
become a public debate

an
impressive number of former circumcisers have denounced their profession and are now
strong community educators

girls have
started to write to PATH and FPAK, asking for assistance because they have decided,
against family pressure, not to undergo the operation

women have
formed groups, and role models publicly declare they are not circumcised, while health
worker discuss it with patients in public meetings

the use of
slang among young men shows a change in attitudes: an uncircumcised girl is referred to as
a manyanga ( Swahili for young, new), while a circumcised one is nicknamed mitumba
(second hand, or used)

for the
first time in churches, preachers are talking about female circumcision during baptism,
and this is very encouraging (FPAK).
'The more
girls are educated the more they will be in a position to make their own choices'.
FPAK, Maendeleo, and PATH are optimistic as far as discouraging circumcision goes, but
realise it will take a long time.